


Found

by kitnkadoodle



Series: Timber: Seasons of Love [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Amputation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fantasy, Flashbacks, Human/Monster Romance, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prosthesis, Repressed Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:06:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21563464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitnkadoodle/pseuds/kitnkadoodle
Summary: Hollis relived his past and Rowhan is there to help him through it.
Relationships: Hollis/Rowhan
Series: Timber: Seasons of Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549429
Kudos: 4





	Found

Dawn broke and the light from the sun shone through the dingy windows and the the one broken window blind. The bright yellow light fell on Hollis’ eyes, stirring him awake with a slight uncomfortable groan. Cursing the fact that he had always been a light sleeper, he turned his body to face the other direction.

His sleep-heavy eyes landed on the scruffy chin of his larger, human mate, whose lips were still kiss-swollen from the night before. Hollis grinned as he remembered the night they shared together and he traced his wooden fingers lightly over the reddish purple marks which dotted Rowhan’s shoulders and neck, brushing the longer portion of his dark brown hair aside. 

His heart felt full, and he nuzzled into the soft cushion under his head. He never thought he’d ever find anyone who would treat him so lovingly, and whom he could adore in return. 

His fingers danced on Rowhan’s broad shoulders, down his muscular arms and intertwined with rough fingers in a light embrace. He didn’t want to wake him yet, the sight of his vulnerable figure completely lost in slumber and wrapped tightly in a cocoon of blankets made his heart skip— Another sensation he was still not used to feeling. How was it possible for such a big man to be so adorable?

Rowhan moaned lightly in his sleep as his lips twitched, and a little bit of drool pooled into his pillow. Humans were such interesting creatures, Hollis thought as he watched. Rowhan at least, didn’t have to sleep like the world was out to get him. Hollis had realized this because he was a very heavy sleeper. He was also not a morning person and needed a cup of coffee to truly have a conversation. If Hollis could understand morning mutterings he'd try harder to wake him up earlier. 

Hollis sighed as he brought their intertwined fingers to his lips to kiss Rowhan’s gently.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in Hollis' mind and shattered his blissful haze. It was the closeness of the hands to his face that triggered the images. A memory of a battle arena, a larger hulking monster’s glowing eyes filled his vision and he opened his mouth to form an inaudible scream.

Or so he thought, because the next thing he knew Rowhan was holding him carefully against his naked torso, and reassuring him that he was safe, that he was not going to be hurt and that Rowhan would absolutely protect him.

Hollis’ vision cleared and he looked up into the deep blue eyes, filled with concern and reassurance.  
“Hey,” Rowhan said trying to fight back a yawn. “Did you have a nightmare? You were screaming.”

Hollis quickly stood from Rowhan’s grasp, his hooves met the wooden floor with a clack.

Needing a little bit of air, He crossed his arms around himself and pulled the window open. Closing his eyes as the cold morning breeze caressed his face he took a deep breath and tasted the moist air. 

Rowhan looked on with concern, and covered his chest up with his blanket. It was freezing but it was obvious to him that Hollis needed this. 

“You could say that.” Hollis said after a few minutes. He watched as sunlight pierced through the light mist on the ground. In the distance a buck and a doe could be seen and his ears twitched when the sound of birds cut through the last part of his dark memory. He whirled to face Rowhan, who was trying his best not to shiver. He had a difficult time reading his exact emotion, because his face was half covered by messed up brown hair.

If this were a lighter part of the morning, Hollis would have commented on how his hair looked like a rooster tail. 

“That happens sometimes.” He said with a sad smile. “Occasionally, I get these flashes of terrifying memories from…” he swallowed and sat back down on the edge of the small pull out bed and placed his face in his hands. “...From before.” it He could feel his vision becoming hazy again and he became silent. 

Rowhan leaned forward, wrapping his body against Hollis' bare back and took his wooden hands and held them tightly. “Hollis, baby, can you look at me?” 

Hollis looked down at the large hands holding his, telling himself that those were Rowhan’s and they were safe, gentle and he wouldn’t hurt him. 

His lower lip quivered turning his body, his gaze followed the hand, to his forearm, bicep, and shoulder and finally, landed on his concerned, but caring smile. 

“Baby, I don’t know what the nightmare was, and you may not want to tell me, but it was only a dream, okay?” Hollis felt the warm touch of Rowhan's hand against his cheek. "Do you feel that? I'm real and I'm here for you."

Hollis shook his head as he turned his body more to lean against Rowhan’s chest. He needed to feel even more grounded, and he felt he could finally be touched again. He was safe.

“Dear Heart, what do you know about my kind? What do the story books say about us?” His voice was quiet and he traced his fingers on Rowhan’s skin.

Rowhan could only see the top of Hollis’s head and his horns, but he felt a tear as it slid onto his bare chest.

“The stories I can remember say that your kind were very much into partying and having lots of…” he paused, the thought of Hollis with anyone else made him uncomfortable and he blushed. “Lots of sex?”

Hollis chuckled a little, which helped Rowhan feel a little less worried. 

“Some of us yes, but that’s only part of it. Some Satyrs and fawns could be very cruel to those who are different, it wasn’t all fun and games.” He swallowed as his voice darkened. “And I was very different.”

“You seem perfect to me?” Rowhan offered quickly. 

“That’s very sweet of you,” Hollis nuzzled into his chest and kissed it lightly. “I am different than others though. I’m much smaller and my horns...are imperfect. So I was set up to be cast aside from the beginning."

“Where you treated like an outsider?” Rowhan asked. 

“Isn’t that the nature of living things? To treat those who are different so poorly that they disappear?” Hollis asked and then took a deep breath. “I was viewed as the lowest Fawn in my homeland. And that meant I was to earn my living during festivals and parties, particularly in the battle arenas.”

“Rowhan’s grip tightened against Hollis. “But you aren’t a fighter. You said so yourself in the past. Your power lies with your mind and your plants.” 

“They didn’t use me for my mind or my abilities, they didn’t see those as valuable. Lots of fawns can do what I do.” He sighed. “But they wanted to have entertainment and the best way to do that would be to have certain people fill certain roles.”

Rowhan swallowed, afraid of what Hollis would tell him next, still he listened on. 

“I was a writer of songs, and poems. Did I ever tell you?” Hollis said with a chuckle. “I tried to offer my services in that way, but my village had other plans. I was small, I was very fast and they saw those abilities as training exercises for our stronger warriors to practice on.”

Rowhan had been playing with a loose strand of Hollis' autumn-orange hair and suddenly stopped. “You were bait?”

Hollis shook his head. “I was the target. I barely survived each time." He closed his hands into a fist.

Rowhan was beginning to put a couple of things together. “You said you were a writer, can you write with your hands or did you use work some sort of power to do it?”

“People underestimate you, love.” Hollis sighed and opened up his hands, “You catch on quickly, these aren’t my original hands. I lost them in my last battle. I’ll save you the gory details.”

Rowhan felt his stomach turn. “They took away so much from you.” He reached down and placed Hollis’ right arm against his cheek and kissed his palm. “Hollis, I’m so sorry.”

Hollis stared at him and smiled, “It took time, Row, but I was able to write again. My life didn't end, I'm still here. I have to tell myself that."  
He sighed and ran his thumb over Rowhan’s bottom lip. “Your heart is so kind.”

“It doesn’t take much to be a good person,” Rowhan shrugged. “But it’s easy to be kind to you.” He moved a strand of hair out of Hollis’ face. “You are a very lovable person yourself.” 

"I did have another question though, how did you escape them?" Rowhan asked. 

"It's a centuries long story, but I ran away. Lived my life in secret and then boarded a ship and arrived on this continent. I was very weak, but I had to find a place that I could call my own. Without the influence of my village."

Rowhan listened and felt himself smoothing his fingers over the soft bark on Hollis' right forearm.

"In order to survive here, I had to make a pact with a tree. I would help protect it, in return I get to live here and recharge my powers whenever I needed to."

He sighed. "I can go into more details later about my adventures."

"I'd like that," Rowhan smirked. "But I also want to make new adventures with you. Happier adventures, the kind they make movies about."

Hollis blushed, that sounded like a very deep confession. He quickly pulled Rowhan into a kiss to mask his embarrassment, as he pulled away he cleared his throat. 

“I really just wanted to tell you all of this because sometimes I am very affected by those memories.”

“I will do what I can to help bring you back,” Rowhan said and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll always find you, okay?”

“You are so dramatic sometimes,” Hollis laughed and threw his arms around him as he pressed his body even closer to Rowhan’s. The force was strong enough to knock them both down against the pillows. 

“I feel better after talking about it.” Hollis said as he rested his chin on top of Rowhan’s chest.  
Looking up at Hollis, Rowhan smiled, the fawn was bathed in the most stunning halo of light and for a moment he felt like he was in the presence of a celestial being from heaven. He shook way the cheesy thought before he made a fool of himself for saying it out loud. 

“I’m glad, now c'mere. I’ve need more kisses for breakfast.”

Hollis grinned and leaned down as he pulled the covers over both of them. “Breakfast is served.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this!  
> I hope it wasn't too traumatic to read, but yes Hollis' wooden hands are one way he uses his plant powers.  
> They were taken from him as punishment for trying to escape to freedom. :( 
> 
> Sweet info: He often sings lullaby's to Rowhan


End file.
